My eyelids flickered. Light bombarded my vision, and for a moment, it blurred everything in my sight. Pain radiated through my head and down my spine, burning across the skin on my throat. I managed a sharp intake of breath through my teeth, and I let my eyes shut again, shuffling awkwardly in a vain attempt to make myself more comfortable.

A chair scrapped back across the floor. "Ace?" a quiet, panicked voice came, and warm hands slipped through mine. Immediately, the pain ceased, replaced with a numb, tingling sensation.

My eyes fluttered open again, and the room blurred into view. I was lay in a bed in the infirmary, with a fire roaring in the hearth and the curtains drawn back to reveal the rising sun, barely visible beyond a mass of grey clouds. A large glass of nectar and several cubes of ambrosia stood on the nightstand by my bed. On the other side, Apollo sat staring at me cautiously.

My eyebrows tightened in confusion, and it took a few seconds for me to shake it off. Apollo waited patiently, stood in his usual white t-shirt, jeans and trainers, his skin heavily tanned. "W-What happened?" I croaked, my voice tearing at the inside of my throat strangely.

He flinched, his hands tightening around mine. "You passed out, Ace," he told me gently, his thumb tracing patterns across the back of my hand. "Percy and Chiron managed to get you off the ship. Sasha managed to hold back the monsters, and Aphrodite suppressed the pain for a while to let you sleep, but . . ."

I blinked, trying to get everything sorted out in my head. Percy and Chiron? A ship? And what was Aphrodite doing helping me?

"I don't understand," I managed to whisper, and he gulped hard.

"It doesn't matter," he dismissed. "Not right now. Rest. We'll sort everything out . . . later." His voice broke on the last word, but before I could ask what was wrong, he leant forward and pressed his lips to mine softly. I had all of a second to enjoy it, then my eyes grew heavy again and I fell asleep.

Vaguely, I was aware of waking on and off several times over the space of the next few days, but I never uttered a word or managed to move. Numerous people visited; I heard Annabeth crying, Percy cursing Luke so often Chiron might have washed his mouth out with soap, Clarisse snapping at me for not coming back in one piece, and on one occasion, a gruff voice I thought might have belonged to my father.

When I finally woke up properly, it was raining heavily outside. The fire in the heath had gone out, and the sun was nowhere to be seen, despite the fact the clock said it was only five in the afternoon. I didn't move for a while, unsure if my head would grow too foggy and I'd pass out again. When nothing happened, I risked stretching out some of my muscles and figured it was a good sign when only a wince slipped through my teeth.

"I'd be more careful if I were you," a soft voice came, and I started, yelping slightly when my neck twisted.

Immediately, Aphrodite stepped forward so that I could see her, stopping beside my bed and staring down at me with what looked like pity. To my surprise, she wasn't made up like a Barbie doll this time, dressed in simple white summer dress and lace pumps with her blonde hair pulled into a thick braid over one shoulder.

"Good evening," she greeted. "You look awful."

I blinked. "What?" I coughed, my voice raspy and hoarse.

"You've been asleep for almost four days now," she told me.

Something squirmed in my stomach, and I ground my teeth together, shifting to try and push myself up right. It was slow going, and Aphrodite simply sat down on the edge of the bed, watching me carefully.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice weak.

"You've been poisoned," she told me simply. "With elder python venom, and the only known cure is currently protecting your sister's tree." She spoke as though nothing was wrong, but the full weight of her words suddenly hit me.

I was dying. I didn't know how long it would take, maybe a day, a week, a month, but slowly, the poison in my veins would kill me. There was a sudden rush of emotion, and I didn't know what was stronger, the fear or the shock.

Luke had finally done it. He'd finally killed me. And now he was going to sit back and watch it happen.

Oddly, tears wouldn't come. My skin shivered, like ice was sliding down my spine, but there was no tears. Aphrodite watched me for a second, then sighed heavily and rearranged the skirt of her dress. I stared, wondering why the unconcerned look on her face bothered me.

Then I remembered it was her fault I was here in the first place.

"Luke did this because I didn't choose him," I told her evenly, and my fists clenched irritably when I couldn't even say that without my voice breaking.

"Yes," she agreed without hesitating. "I was worried something like that might happen."

"Worried?" I hissed, coughing loudly. She pulled a face at me, reaching forward and pushing my shoulder back into the pillows softly.

"Well," she shrugged. "I didn't think you wanted me making a huge deal about it. You were getting too much attention from the gods already." I bit my lip, holding back as much of my anger as possible. "Besides, that wasn't the point."

"Oh? And what was?"

"To see how far you'd go," she answered easily. "And now you know how you feel. It will make the next part easier . . . eventually."

I didn't like the sound of that, but before I could ask, the door opened and Apollo froze, glancing between the two of us with an unreadable expression. "What are you doing here?" he asked Aphrodite, his voice dangerously calm.

She shot him a dark look. "Nothing. Only telling dear Acacia here she's passed her test." He blinked, obviously surprised, but she paid him no attention. Instead, she pushed herself to her feet and brushed off her dress again. "For future reference, Acacia, I am on your side."

I felt my eyebrows rise. "I didn't realise there were sides," I replied.

She scanned my expression, then winced through her teeth and shot Apollo a look. "Um. Good luck, Acacia. Shout if you need anything, okay?" Smiling, she whirled around and strode past Apollo, who's jaw had locked in shimmering anger.

The door clipped shut behind her, and it was a moment before either of us said anything. "What was that about?" I questioned in a quiet voice.

Apollo glanced at me quickly, then turned away to pour a large glass of nectar. "Nothing," he lied. "She likes causing trouble." For the first time, I wondered if Apollo knew she'd told me about their past argument. Part of me wanted to bring it up, but the other part was too tired to start that argument just yet.

Apollo turned back and handed me the glass of nectar, which I took with a small, grateful smile. I took a sip of the green liquid, marvelling yet again at how it tasted like caramel. A warm, comfortable feeling flooded through me.

He sat on the edge of my bed uncertainly. "How you feeling?"

I took another gulp of the nectar before I answered. "Not too bad. Tired more than anything. I need to get out."

"Not just yet," he dismissed, shifting a little closer and taking one of my hands. "You should eat first, at least. I'll get Chiron to bring you something in a minute."

I sighed. "It's fine, can I not just go to the dining pavilion for dinner?"

"I hate to break it to you, Ace, but you're not looking so good at the moment," he grimaced, tracing one of his thumbs across the back of my palm soothingly.

"I couldn't care less how I look," I argued with a small frown. "I don't want to spend any more time in here, it's driving me crazy."

He managed a small smile. "You've only just woke up, Ace," he replied softly. When I only folded my arms in response, his smile grew a fraction and he gave a short, quiet laugh. "Fine. I'll go and get you some food from Chiron, then we can see about getting you out."

I forced a smile. "Thanks." Returning the smile, he leant forward and kissed my lips, so softly I shivered and automatically wrapped my hands around his face. He sighed, leaning further into me and deepening the kiss for a moment.

Then, all too soon, he pulled back, his eyes shining as they fixed on mine. Tucking my hair behind my ear, he pushed himself further away. "I'll be back in a moment," he promised, turning to let himself out of the room. I listened carefully, making sure he'd definitely left, before struggling to swing my legs off the side of the bed, rummaging through the top draw in the nightstand to find a small mirror.

The sight made my stomach churn. Aphrodite was right. I looked awful. My skin was pale, and my eyes were dull, with my now-long-again hair falling in tangles around my shoulders. Worse than that, a large bandage was pressed into the right side of my throat where Luke had poisoned me. Angry tears burned my eyes, and I remembered what Aphrodite had said about understanding how I felt. She was right, but what use was that now? I'd rather he'd just ran me through with his sword.

Grinding my teeth together, I placed the mirror back down and gripped the side of the bed tightly. Slowly, I placed my feet on the floor and tried to stand, but my muscles were just too weak. The lack of use had withered the last of my strength, and with a gasp, I felt myself crumble again. With nothing else to do, I collapsed back onto the side of the bed with an irritated grumble.

An exasperated sigh came from behind me. "You shouldn't be trying to move, Acacia!" Will Solace scolded, rushing forward and helping me settle back on the side of the bed properly.

The sight of him made me uneasy, since most of the Apollo kids had been avoiding me since the start of summer, but I managed to shoot him a frown all the same. "Luke's still out there, Will," I managed in a hoarse and raspy voice, wincing sharply as I stretched my muscles.

He just snorted at me with a roll of his eyes, handing me the glass of nectar again. "You're going nowhere fast, Acacia," he warned. "And no offence, but your last meeting with him didn't go very well, did it?" He pointed at the bandage on my neck and I shot him a dark look. He only held his hand out in surrender, shoving the glass into one of my hands. "Besides, Dad would probably kill me himself if I let you go wandering off again."

Immediately, I felt myself flush uncomfortably, shifting on the spot. Will winced, giving me a sympathetic look. "Sorry," he mumbled awkwardly. "But it's true. You know Ares had to show up a few days back just to drag him back to Olympus?"

"Not helping, Will," I groaned quietly.

He shrugged. "Hey, if you've fallen for a god, who am I to judge? You know, it's a little weird and he's way too old for you, but I'm not judging." I scowled and he managed a small smile. "The entire Camp is the same. After everything you did for us . . ."

A scoff of disbelief slipped my lips and I grimaced, lifting a hand to my bandage. "Great," I choked exasperatedly. "All I had to do to get Camp back was get myself killed."

His face fell in guilt. "Don't," he winced, shaking his head. "Don't say that, we're going to find a cure."

I let out a small laugh, choking slightly as I met his gaze. "We already did," I breathed. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. Thalia's tree is healing and Camp is safe. That's what I went out there to do, that's what matters."

"Stop," he insisted with a small frown. "Stop talking like that, Acacia. We're going to find a way. Whatever it takes. You can't give up now."

I took a breath. "And how long before the poison gets too much? How long do I have before I die?"

Will paled, running a hand through his hair, and for a moment he looked so much like his father it was painful. "I think you should be having this conversation with someone else," he murmured. "If anyone knows, it's Dad."

"That doesn't make me feel better, Will."

He didn't answer, but to be fair, I wasn't sure there was any answer he could give. Without a word, he rummaged in the drawer to find a fresh bandage and went to work peeling the old one off slowly. I restrained a wince with difficulty. "How bad?"

He frowned. "Honestly, I'm not sure. It's like nothing I've ever seen before." Before he could object, I snatched the mirror from the side back up and smacked his hands out of the way to look.

I knew what he meant. It was like black ink was staining my veins, leaking through my skin from the spot Luke had stabbed me with the syringe a few inches below my right ear. The skin around it was red and sore, and it had obviously been bleeding at some point, but it didn't seem too bad at the moment. Still, Will took the mirror out of my hands and held up a wet cloth. "I'm going to have to wash it before I redress it," he told me. "It's gonna hurt."

I shot him a wry look. "No more than it did when I was being poisoned with the stuff to being with," I commented dryly. "Just get it over with."

With an awkward look, he took my chin and tilted my head back, brushing my hair out of the way and setting to work. His grip on my chin doubled when I flinched away automatically, but as he worked, I forced myself to stay as still as possible, the pain bring irritated tears to my eyes. It took longer than I thought it should have, but finally, he finished and wrapped a thinner bandage around my neck.

"Just in case," he told me as he released my chin. "I don't think you'll need it, but we can always take it off later if not."

"Thanks, Will," I grimaced, taking several large gulps of nectar with shaky hands.

He watched cautiously. "You want to take it easy with that," he warned. I nodded, placing it back down, but the moment he'd let himself out of the room, I had no choice but to take another gulp. Still, when my skin started to grow a little red, I put it down again pretty quickly.

It took another few minutes before Apollo returned with food - a large pizza and a couple of cans of Coke - and a gentle smirk. "You hungry?" he asked, laying the pizza box on the side of the bed and handing me a can. I nodded with a small smile, and he frowned slightly, flicking the pizza box open. "You alright?"

"Not really," I admitted quietly. He hesitated, but I only opened the can and took a sip, setting it beside the remaining nectar before reaching forward for a slice of pepperoni pizza. Taking a bite, I glanced up to see he hadn't moved, his eyes still fixed on mine. I swallowed my food with some difficulty. "There's no cure, Apollo."

My voice quivered in fright as I spoke, and in the same instant, Apollo had shifted to sit right beside me, wrapping his arms around me. The gesture was too personal; suddenly there were tears burning in my eyes and I was sobbing uncontrollably. He just held me tightly, one hand stroking my hair softly as he threw the pizza back into the box, his lips kissing my forehead.

"Shush," he murmured softly in my ear. "It's okay. It'll be okay." If anything, that only made me cry harder.

How long it took for the tears to dry up, I wasn't sure. But eventually, the two of us were left in silence. Apollo sat with one arm around my shoulder and one around my legs, which rested straight across his. My head lay against his chest, where my tears had soaked his t-shirt. I wanted to move and eat, but I couldn't move. I couldn't find the energy. So instead, I remained curled into Apollo's side, watching my shaking fingertips trace patterns across his chest.

He breathed deeply, running a hand through my hair. "Feel like eating?" he asked quietly.

I didn't argue, taking my slice of now cold pizza and forcing myself to eat something. What I really needed was to get out of here. I needed to train and get some fresh air. But at the same time, I didn't want Apollo to let go.

I tried not to think too much, leaning away to take a swig of my drink. When I turned back, Apollo caught my face in his hands before I could settle and pressed his lips to mine passionately. I froze in surprise, but melted a heartbeat later, my hands automatically tightening around his shirt as my lips moved against his. Gently, his teeth grazed my bottom lip, pulling them apart. A shiver ran through me with a quiet whimper, and I pulled him closer.

When we broke apart, both of us were breathless. Carefully, he wrapped an arm around my waist and held me against his chest, his lips trailed across my jawline tauntingly. "Apollo," I gulped, pushing his shoulders back a fraction.

He leant back slightly, his bright eyes fixed on mine as his free hand wrapped around my face gently. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Ace," he muttered, and I managed a weak smile.

"I think it's a little late for that," I commented under my breath. His face flinched. "How long?" For a moment, he stared at me, like he thought I couldn't possibly be asking that question. I gulped again. "I mean it, Apollo. You know, I know you do. How long before the poison kills me?"

"Ace," he started.

My lips pursed, and I wriggled out of his hold with a frown. "Just tell me."

He leant back and ran his hands through his hair anxiously, his eyebrows pulled tight. "Christmas," he muttered. "Maybe New Year, but . . ."

A whimper broke out of my throat, but I forced myself to clamp my lips shut and take deep breaths through my nose. "How bad is it going to get?"

"Jeez, Ace, would you-"

"Just tell me!" I interrupted. "Apollo, I have to know."

He groaned loudly, pulling me back into his arms until my back was rested against his chest. "I don't know the specifics, Ace, no mortal has ever been poisoned with this stuff as far as I can remember," he muttered reluctantly in my ear. "For what I can tell, once the initial effects have worn off and your body has adjusted, it could take months before you show any signs of deterioration. Even then, it'll be a slow process."

"Brilliant," I grumbled.

"It is," he said indignantly. "More time for-" He broke off suddenly, and I wanted him to admit that there wasn't a way out of this. I didn't want to spend the next five months arguing with him about it.

Five months, I gulped, shivering all over. I only have five months to live . . .

If I ever saw Luke again, I'd kill him.